Machine for forming heel-irons for vehicle-shafts.



I G. A. LAMBERT. MACHINE FOR FORMING HEEL IRONS FOR VEHICLE SEAFTS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1909.

Patented Dec.'27

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G. A. LAMBERT. MACHINE FOR FORMING HEEL IRONS IOB, VEHICLE SHAPTS.

Patented Dec.27, 1910.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

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GEORGE A. LAMBERT, OF ANDERSON, INDIANA.

MACHINE FOR FORMING HEEL-IRONS FOR VEHICLE-SHAFTS.

-of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Machine for Forming Heel-Irons for Vehicle-Shafts; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide means to facilitate the upsetting of heel irons for vehicle shafts by the rolling process, that is, by gripping on the edges of iron strips so that a tight or close roll can be produced.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the machine with a portion of the lower part broken away. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section through a heel iron andv the means for holding the same, on the line 44 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a heel iron after it has been treated by a machine, the same being centrally broken away, as indicated.

The machine is adapted to treat a heel iron 10 while heated by coiling or folding one end thereof about one and one-half turns so as to thicken the end thereof and arrange it for further treatment to form the same into a hall. or an eye to be secured to ears or other suitable means attached to the front axle of a vehicle. In the construction herein shown, the enlarged end of the heel iron 10 is subsequently formed into a ball or barrel shape adapted to fit into a socket or shackle attached to the front axle of the vehicle, but it may be drilled or punched to form an eye through which a bolt extends in the oldfashioned manner.

The heel iron 10 is formed preferably with beveled sides, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, so that it may be slipped or inserted into correspondingly shaped grooves 11 in two oppositely positioned rotary gripping heads 12 and 13, as shown in Fig. 4, for coiling said heel strap into the form shown in Fig. 5. The two heads 12 and 13 project from a pair of shafts 14 and 15, respectively. They are mounted coaxially in alinement with each other, the former in bearings 16 and 17 and the latter in bearings 18 and 19. The bearings 16, 17 and 18 are on similar stands Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 5, 1909.

Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

Serial No. 5%,414.

20 which are secured upon the table 21, and the bearing 19 is mounted on an arm 22 extending laterally from the right-hand side of the table. Collars 23 and 24 are secured on the shaft 15 to hold it from longitudinal movement, and the drive-wheel 25 is mounted on said shaft. A clutch apparatus 26 of any familiar type adapted to be actuated by the oscillatory movement of the arm 127, is employed for clutching the shaft 15 into and out of driving connection with the driving wheel 25. Therefore the head 13 and shaft 15 have rotary but not longitudinal movement, but the head 12 and shaft 14 are capable of both rotary and longitudinal movement. They are moved by the lever 27, one end of which is yoked, as shown in Fig. 2, to half surround the shaft 14, and it acts against a flange or collar 28 that is stationary on the shaft so as to push the shaft 14 to the left and thus move the head 12 away from the head 13 for the removal or insertion of the heel iron 10.

The shaft 14 and head 12 are pushed normally to the right by a strong spring 30 which encircles the left-hand end of the shaft 14 and bears against the collar 31 on said shaft and a head 32 on a screw 33 that operates in an internally threaded bearing 34 upon the arm 35 which extends from the left side of the table 21, see F 1 and 3. The function of the screw is to adjust the tension of the spring, and the function of the spring is to hold the head 12 in gripping engagement upon the shaft heel iron 10 during the operation of the machine.

Power is transmitted from the driver 25 to shaft 15 through the clutch 26, and on said shaft 15 a gear 36 is secured that meshes with a larger gear 37, which is secured on the countershaft 38 that is 1nounted in bearings 29 and 39 on the upper ends of stands 40, which are like the stands 20. The gear 37 carries a pin 41, which engages and operates the clutchthrowing lever 27 at each revolution of the wheel 37 to throw the mechanism out of operation through the clutch 26, and the gears 36 and 37 are made of such size that the gear 36 in the shaft 15 will make about one and one-half revolutions for one revolution of the gear 37. Hence heads 12 and 13 only receive one and one-half revolutions at each operation of the machine, and then the machine automatically ceases to operate. On the other end of the countershaft 38 there is another spur gear 42 secured that meshes with the gear 43 secured on the shaft 14. When the shaft 14 is given longitudinal movement by the lever 27, the gear 43 slides on the gear 42, but not far enough to disengage the same. This construction enables the shaft 14 to be actuated, and the gear 42 is also used for giving the shaft 14 its sliding and disengaging movement. On one side of the gear 14 there is a cam plate 44, which at each revolution of said gear engages the roller 45 on the end of a bar 46, which is slidably mounted in the guiding frame 47 mounted upon the table and with its free end bent so as to engage the adjusting screw 48 in the end of the lever 27. At each revolution of the wheel 42 the bar 46 is pushed to the right and that actuates said lever 27 so as to throw the shaft 14 to the left. The screw 48 in the end of the lever 27 adjusts the relation between it and the bar 46.

The lever 27 is fulcrumed on a vertical post 50 projecting upwardly from the table, see Fig. 2. The work-sujiiporting plate 51 is pivoted to said post by bolts 152 passing through cars 53 on each side of the post. It has a projection at its free or forward end on the upper side upon which the heel iron 10 is placed with the edges thereof fitting in the grooves 11 of the heads 12 and 13, see Fig. 4, and with the inner end thereof bearing against an abutment slidable on the rod 153 which screws into a plate 54, which is secured at the rear end of the worksupporting plate 51. A spring 55 around the rod 153 tends to force the abutment outwardly. The free end of the plate 51 is also yieldingly supported by the spring 56 which rests upon the table.

The machine is thrown into operation by the pedal 60, see Fig. 3. which operates the lever 61 fulcruined at 2 to the arm 22 of the frame. Said lever 61 is coupled with the lower end of a clutch rod 63 which projects through a bearing portion 64 on the frame arm 22 and carries a yoke 65 on its upper end which operates the clutch 26 to lock the driver 25 to the wheel 36. The lever 27 is fulcrumed at 28 and at its inner end is pivotally connected to the rod 63, so that when the outer end of the lever 27 is depressed, the rods 63 and yoke 65 will be given an upward movement, which will throw the clutch out of operation. Any of the usual clutch constructions which go out of operation at each revolution or fraction thereof may be used.

In operation the heel iron 10, while flat and heated, is pushed in over the outer por tion of the plate 51 against the abutment 52 and between the heads 12 and 1 as shown in Fig. 4. Then the machine is set in operation and the heads 12 and 13 receive one and one-half or the desired revolutions, which cause the end of the iron 10 to be twisted or coiled, as shown in Fig. 5. During the twisting movement of said plate, the supporting plate 51 and also the abut ment 52 yield to an extent permitted by the springs and 56. At the end of one and one-half or the desired number of revolutions of the heads 12 and 13 the machine automatically is thrown out of gear, and the heel strap removed. The operation can be very rapidlv carried on so that the output of the machine is considerable. It will form a heel iron as fast as a boy can feed the iron 10 into the machine and remove the same.

YVhat- I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for forming heel irons for vehicle shafts including a pair of oppositely located revoluble heads adapted to grasp a heel iron on its side edges near one end, a yielding plate for supporting the heel iron while being coiled, means for actuating said revolving heads, and means for stopping said actuating means automatically after a certain extent of the operation thereof.

2. A machine for forming heel irons for vehicle shafts including a pair of oppositely located revoluble heads adapted to grasp a heel iron on its side edges near one end, a yielding abutment against which the inner end of the heel iron is projected when first put in place, means for actuating said revolving heads, and means for stopping said actuating means automatically after a certain extent of the operation thereof.

3. A machine for forming heel irons for vehicle shafts including a pair of oppositely located revoluble heads provided with opposing slots similarly formed with one side of each slot extending parallel with the axis of said heads, a yielding plate for supporting the heel iron while being coiled, means for actuating said revolving heads, and means for stopping said actuating means antomatically after a certain extent of the operation thereof.

4. A machine for forming heel irons for vehicle shafts including a pair of oppositely located revoluble heads provided with opposing slots similarly formed with one side of each slot extending parallel with the axis of said heads, a yielding plate for supporting the heel iron while being coiled, a yielding abutment mounted on the inner end of said yielding supporting plate and adapted to stop the inner end of the heel plate when first put in place in the machine, means for actuating said revolving heads, and means for stopping said actuating means automatically after a certain extent of the operation thereof.

5. A machine for forming heel irons for vehicle shafts including a pair of oppositely located revoluble heads adapted to grasp a heel iron on its side edges near one end, one of said heads being mounted so as to yield longitudinally of its axis, a spring for holding said head in its grasping position, a yielding plate for supporting the heel iron while being coiled, means for actuating said revolving heads, means for stopping said aotuating means automatically after a certain extent of the operation thereof, and means for causing one of said heads to yield laterally at the end of each operation of the machine, whereby the heel iron can be removed.

6. A machine for forming heel irons for vehicle shafts including a pair of oppositely located revoluble heads adapted to grasp a heel iron on its side edges near one end, a yielding plate for supporting the heel iron while being coiled, shafts carrying said heads, means for driving said shafts, a gear secured on one of said shafts, another gear meshing with the gear on said shaft and having a pin projecting from it, and means actuated by the pin in said gear for throwing said shafts out of operation at each revolution of said last-mentioned gear, said gears being of such relative dimensions as to cause the heads to revolve the desired number of times.

7 A machine for forming heel irons for vehicle shafts including a pair of oppositely located revoluble heads adapted to grasp a heel iron on its side edges near one end, a yielding plate for supporting the heel iron while being coiled, shafts carrying said heads, means for driving said shafts, gears of the same size secured on said shafts, a countershaft parallel with said shafts, gears of similar size secured 011 said countershaft in position to engage the gears on said headrevolving shafts, and means operated by one of the gears on said countershaft for throwing the head revolving shafts out of operation at each revolution of said last-mentioned gear, whereby the two heads will be given identical movement and will be simultaneously stopped.

8. A machine for forming heel irons for vehicle shafts including a pair of oppositely located revoluble heads adapted to grasp a heel iron at its side edges near one end, shafts which carry said heads and which i l l l i l are in coaxial alinelnent with each other, one of said shafts being mounted so as to be longitudinally movable, a spring for forc ing said latter shaft toward the other shaft, means for driving the shaft which is not longitudinally movable, equal spur gears secured on each shaft, a countershaft parallel with said head revolving shafts, equal gears secured on said countershaft that mesh with the gears on said head-revolving shafts, means on one of said countershaft gears for throwing the driving means out of operation at each revolution of said gear, and means actuated by the other countershaft gear at each revolution for giving said sliding headrevolving shaft a sliding movement against the action of its spring simultaneously with the stopping of the revolution of said heads.

9. A machine for forming heel irons for vehicle shafts including a pair of oppositely located revoluble heads adapted to grasp a heel iron at its side edges near one end, shafts which carry said heads and which are in coaxial alinement with each other, one of said shafts being mounted so as to be longitudinally movable, a spring for forcing said latter shaft toward the other shaft, means for driving the shaft which is not longitudinally movable, equal spur gears secured on each shaft, a countershaft parallel with said head-revolving shafts, equal gears secured on said countershaft that mesh with the gears on said head-revolving shafts, means on one of said countcrshaft gears for throwing the driving means out of operation at each revolution of said gear, a cam 011 the side of the other countershaft gear, a sliding bar adapted to be actuated by said cam as the actuation of the heads is being stopped, and a lever in position to be actuated at one end by said bar and the other end in position to move said sliding shaft against the action of its spring.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of the witnesses herein named.

GEORGE A. LAMBERT.

Witnesses:

Gr. H. BOINK, O. M. MOLAUGIILIN. 

